As stellar tourism season winds down, fears of an April slump

Saturday

Mar 30, 2013 at 6:12 PM

By JUSTINE GRIFFIN, justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com

Hoteliers and tourist-related businesses throughout Southwest Florida are bracing for a slower-than-average April — despite a winter visitor season that has been arguably stronger than last year's record-setter.

The foreboding over April stems largely from an earlier-than-usual Easter, historically the demarcation of high tourism season's end.

In past years, hotels and vacation rental companies have been able to book most of the next month when the holiday fell later on the calendar.

But with Easter falling in late March, some in the industry are worried that an exodus could leave condominiums, restaurants and attractions wanting.

Because many vacation rentals are monthly, it seems likely many visitors will choose to go back north on April 1 rather than extend their stays by another full month.

"With Easter at the end of March, we're not getting that kick we normally would get during the month of April," said Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, the county's tourism agency.

But Haley and others are hoping that visitors' strong desire to visit in March — typically the peak month for travel to Southwest Florida — could spill over and provide some boost to the April numbers.

"The demand is still there," Haley said. "We're hoping that the last-minute travelers who tried to book in March and couldn't find what they wanted had no choice but to reschedule to come in April."

A continuing harsh winter up north may also help bolster April tourism here. Though late-season snow does not appear to be in the forecast, cold temperatures

will prevail throughout much of the nation.

Cleveland and Detroit, for example, endured lows in the 20s and 30s late last week, with gray, depressing skies. High temperatures in both cities failed to get out of the 40s on Friday or Saturday.

In Washington, D.C. — that's another key Southwest Florida feeder market — low temperatures were in the high 30s and low 40s over the weekend, while the highs were stuck in the mid-50s.

Sarasota and Bradenton weekend temperatures, by contrast, climbed into the high 70s, with blue skies and sunshine in abundance.

'Peak season'

Though exact figures are not yet available, hotels and vacation rentals regionwide have reported solid bookings throughout the winter months, prompting predictions that the region could record yet another record-breaking tourism year.

The number of visitors who came to Sarasota in February — the most recent data available — was up by 6.8 percent from the same month in 2012, Visit Sarasota County figures show.

In Manatee, the number of visitors rose 8.8 percent during the same period, tourism promoters say.

Direct spending in the two counties also has increased: in Sarasota County it's up 11 percent so far in fiscal year 2013, and in Manatee by 13 percent.

As a result, some officials are expecting the early Easter to have little impact.

"We're experiencing our peak season for our Midwest and Northeast feeder markets right now, and I don't think Easter is going to help or hurt the growth we're seeing," said Elliott Falcione, executive director for the Bradenton Area Convention Center & Visitors Bureau.

"There is a strong pent-up demand for travel, and people are sick and tired of the cold weather up north," Falcione said. "We don't expect a dip in leisure travel during the months of April or May."

For many Southwest Florida businesses, a successful winter tourism season is critical to getting a year in the black.

In 2012, tourists statewide spent a record $71.8 billion, according to Visit Florida, the state's tourism agency.

That was the first time since 2007 that spending reached pre-recession levels.

Booked rooms

In Sarasota County, 90 percent of all hotel rooms are booked in March, historical data shows.

Last year, those hotel and vacation rentals were at nearly 95 percent occupancy — the highest level in more than seven years.

Most hotels and vacation rentals become profitable when average occupancy reaches the 70 percent mark.

But in April 2012, occupancy levels dropped off to 73 percent. Though that was still the highest percentage for the month since 2007, it represented the start of what is typically a three-month slowdown before tourists return for the summer.

Average daily room rates also drop from March to April. Last year, room prices declined by nearly $30 a night in Sarasota County in April.

This year, with the holiday coming as March winds down, tourism businesses are bracing for what could be a similar — or worse — drop-off.

"Most of the tourists for the season are checking out the last day of March," said Tom Heatherman, spokesman with Michael Saunders & Co., a regional real estate brokerage firm that rents vacation properties in Southwest Florida counties.

"We are not booked solid (for April) like we were in March," Heatherman said. "But we're noticing that the owners of the properties are coming back for April and May, and will leave before the summer season kicks in."

The Longboat Key Club is on pace for its second consecutive record-setting year.

The 440-acre resort has very few vacancies in its 218-room hotel and suites property through the Easter holiday, said spokeswoman Sandra Rios.

"Usually around Easter, our guests extend their stays, but with the holiday falling early, we're not seeing as much of that," Rios said. "April is usually a time where we reach out to the drive-in markets."

Managers at the resort and club — offering 45 holes of golf, tennis courts, a 291-slip marina, an upscale spa and six restaurants — expect a very positive 2013 after posting its best summer last year.

"We're looking to replicate the same traffic during the summer again by hosting more group business travel," Rios said.

The club, which also has 12,000 square feet of meeting space, offered incentives and business travel packages earlier this year.

Stretching the season

On Anna Maria Island, the high tourism season stretches a bit longer than in other parts of Southwest Florida, said David Teitelbaum, who owns and manages four island resort properties.

"We didn't see a slowdown in April last year and don't expect to see it this year," Teitelbaum said. "We'll be busy after Easter and stay busy until September."

As with the Longboat Key Club, the owners of La Playa, a 21-unit condominium complex that's also on the big key, hope to get an April bounce from rental- unit owners who return.

"We book a lot of family vacations, where you see grandparents, their children and grandchildren during the spring-break time," said Dick O'Dowd, who co-owns the property with his wife, Karen.

"As we get into April and May, most of our owners start coming back."

Jeanne McNally, a suburban D.C. resident who has stayed at La Playa every spring for the last eight years, spent the week before Easter there with her husband, children, parents and sister.